Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum Offers 2009 Summer Teachers Workshops

Last Updated on Friday, 24 April 2009 19:05 Wednesday, 21 January 2009 18:55

The Mark Twain Home Foundation is pleased to announce the opening of registration for the 2009 Teachers Workshops. The workshops go hand-in-hand with the mission of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum, which is, “to promote awareness and appreciation of the life and works of Mark Twain and to demonstrate the relevance of his stories and ideas to citizens of the world.”

Three workshop dates are available: June 22-26, July 6-10, and July 20-24. A grant from the Missouri Humanities Council was again provided to support the workshops. Cost to participants is $100 and includes materials, meals, and admission to area landmarks.

The weeklong teachers workshops have several goals: to provide teachers with background works by Twain; to experience the town that served as the fictionalized setting for his best known books; and to provide a forum for discussion and creative thinking about how to approach Twain’s writings in the classroom.

“This is our fourth summer of offering the workshops,” said Dr. Cindy Lovell, interim director. “The teachers bring so much enthusiasm, and we are always excited to post the lesson plans they develop on our website. This allows teachers from all over the world to benefit.”

The museum has assembled a faculty of Mark Twain scholars who, with Museum staff, will conduct the courses with content knowledge as well as new strategies for teaching Twain’s works, including ready-to-use lesson plans, integrated curriculum, multiple intelligences, and innovative ways to use technology to teach Twain.

“The reactions of teachers attending previous workshops indicate that the knowledge and techniques they learned are being used immediately in the classroom,” said Henry Sweets, curator. “We receive follow-up questions, success stories, and requests for museum staff to visit classrooms stemming from their experience in Hannibal.”

During the workshop, participants will experience a taste of Twain’s world by visiting the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum. Furthermore they will be able to follow a guided tour through Mark Twain Cave, ride a Mississippi Riverboat, and journey to Twain’s birthplace in Florida, Mo.

“Watching the teachers experience the sites that young Sam Clemens explored is reaffirming to our mission,” said Lovell. “We know when they leave here they are ready and eager to teach Mark Twain.”

The Mark Twain Home Foundation is sponsoring the program in partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council and with the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Three workshops are offered in 2009. Each will emphasize Following the Equator and Mark Twain short stories. Sessions on Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn will complete the schedule.
        
For more information regarding these workshops and other activities going on at the Museum, please call 573-221-9010 or visit www.marktwainmuseum.org.